At present, the maintenance of an aircraft is determined, for example, during its design stage. The maintenance is then described in a recommended maintenance program (RMP) in which maintenance deadlines are calculated as a function of theoretical utilization of the aircraft covering a maximum of critical behaviors. Such theoretical utilization is identical for all aircraft of a given type, regardless of how they are actually operated in practice by the purchaser.
Such a situation can lead to extra costs in terms of maintenance, in particular for aircraft that are utilized little. The real use of the client is not taken into account in known recommended maintenance programs.
WO 2007/035790 describes a maintenance system for various pieces of equipment, for example for aircraft, which system is located remotely from the pieces of equipment and receives information therefrom via wireless communication. The system includes a microprocessor and it is controlled by a program that enables a maintenance plan to be modified as a function of operating parameters (wear, failure) and of utilization parameters (environment, temperature). The system then enables the maintenance plan of other (identical) pieces of equipment used under the same conditions to be modified automatically, such as for a fleet, and enables spare parts to be ordered and delivered, where necessary, to the right place and at the right time. The objective of modifying a recommended maintenance program of an aircraft on the basis of data coming from another aircraft may constitute a drawback in terms of individualized management for said aircraft, and in particular their mechanical parts when subjected to such a recommended maintenance plan.
WO 2007/005002 describes a maintenance unit that is suitable for modifying an initial maintenance plan as a function of information coming from maintenance operations performed in accordance with that initial plan, as a function of defects or malfunctions, and as a function of the utilization conditions of the equipment under consideration. The real and actual use of the equipment, such as in the context of a calculation model such as an algorithm for dynamically calculating maintenance deadlines, is, however, not provided.
Surveillance systems on board aircraft also do not give information concerning an estimate of the wear or the damage of the parts under surveillance as time progresses.
Known recommended maintenance programs furthermore reflect firstly the increasing complexity of machines and secondly the multiplication of specific maintenance tasks. Managing maintenance is becoming more and more complicated for an operator.